The sale of the Swanson's Tire properties in Midtown closed yesterday to a development group headed by Jeff Johnson with plans to renovate the existing structures for restaurants, bars, retail and office space.


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The .9 acre tract at the northeast corner of NW 9th and Hudson sold for $2.25 million and plans call for a yet to be named Mexican restaurant by the Good Egg Dining Group plus a bar, in addition to other businesses to be added later.

The Swansons owned the property since 1942 but sold the business to Mike Crouse -- a long-time employee -- in 2002 and then the real estate to Crouse as well in 2008. Swanson's last day of business will be this Friday.

The property includes four different structures: the main building fronting Hudson, an east addition to the main building along the north side of the property, a small building facing 9th and another small building facing Harvey.

Good Egg will be taking approximately 5,000 square feet on the south end of the main building and also building out a large 2,500 square foot courtyard / patio in the open area in the center of the tract.


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The north half of the main building and the east addition will be renovated for retail, restaurant and office use.

The development group is also in the final stages of securing a bar for the building on 9th which would also include a small patio.


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The small building facing Harvey is being reserved for future redevelopment. The group also owns a small parking lot on the southeast corner of 9th & Hudson.

Good Egg continues its rapid expansion having recently opened The Drake in Uptown and announcing plans for a large Republic Gastropub in the Chisholm Creek development on Memorial Road. In addition to the original Republic in Classen Curve, Good Egg also operates Cheever's, three Tucker's locations, Iron Star, Kitchen No. 324 and Red PrimeSteak.

Good Egg President Keith Paul told OKCTalk that the newest restaurant will be quite large; 5,000 square feet plus a full 2,500 square foot outdoor patio. Lunch and dinner will be served 7 days a week with brunch on weekends. The concept will feature smart portions, handmade tortillas, wood-fired grilled meats and vegetables and a full bar.

Architect will be Jeremy Gardner and plans and renderings will be released later.

In addition to Johnson, partners in the project include Andy Burnett, Keith Paul, David Wanzer, Ben Sellers, Johnathan Dodson, Rohan Gupta and Aman Aggarwal.


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That Good Egg restaurant is going to absolutely kill it here.

Very excited about this... Midtown continues its path to greatness.


And more great places within walking distance for yours truly!

This sounds pretty awesome! Who is Jeff Johnson?

Jeff Johnson has done a bunch of stuff... Mideke Building, Domino's building in Bricktown, some other things.

Low key guy that just does great work.

That's great. I'm stoked for another Good Egg concept!

This really makes me wish I still lived in midtown.

Love this concept but hate that Swanson's is leaving. That has been a mainstay in Midtown for years. Rare that you find such honest people in that business. Did they indicate they would continue their operations elsewhere? I can't think they are bailing due to lack of business.

The Swansons are retiring and shutting down completely.

I love that these buildings have those high ceilings and huge overhead doors.

Gardner does great work and can't wait to see what he has in store.

Would have thought for the asking price a taller and more dense redevelopment would have had to happen.

I bought my most recent set of tires from Swanson. Sad to see them go as well :(

Would have thought for the asking price a taller and more dense redevelopment would have had to happen.

I knew this was under contract for quite a while and was surprised to learn they are keeping all the existing structures, although I suspect the building on Harvey might not end up being the highest and best use.

But I'm really glad they are keeping everything. It's important to the character of Midtown and I bet this will turn out ultra-cool, especially the interior courtyard.

Midtown is becoming the patio capital of OKC.

Great to see the momentum continuing in Midtown. Cannot wait to see what becomes of this.

I love the guys at Swanson (and how many people can say that about auto mechanics?)! Sad to see them go.

Small side note: the label for R&J is in the wrong location. It should be on the block to the west of current label. It's located on the backside of the building across from "Industry Flea" (not the corner building on 10th and Hudson, but the building east of it).

A cool homage to the buildings history would be to leave the Swanson Tire Co signage up.

I'm hoping Good Egg can do for Mexican food what they've done for seafood at The Drake. I'd like to see it be true Mexican food rather than generic Tex-Mex (although if they go that route I'm sure it will be the best Tex-Mex).

Count me as a person sad to see Swanson's gone. They have saved mine and some of my staff's bacon a few times since we are only a block away. I was going to take my car in next week for an oil change. Oh well, it will clean up the area since some of those buildings are quite run down. And I do love the Good Egg Group. BTW there is a for sale sign on the other building on that block on the southeast corner. I tried to look up the asking price online but could not find it.

Can anyone recommend another tire shop/car repair in the vicinity? I'm sad to see a fundamental service leave, and fear its type will never return.

Can anyone recommend another tire shop/car repair in the vicinity? I'm sad to see a fundamental service leave, and fear its type will never return.

I feel you. As a downtown-dweller the lack of services is killing me. We have a well-publicized need for better grocery options. But beyond that have you ever tried to find a dog border/marriage counselor/experienced physical therapist/pediatric dentist/assorted medical specialists/Starbucks (I know, local is better but still)/drug store (closest is on 23rd & Classen)/etc. The majority of these require drives to Nichols Hills/Quail Creek or Edmond.

Yes we have cooler and cooler restaurants and bars, but c'mon. We are maturing down here. We need some services that don't require an epic drive.

This is why I am not at all upset having a Cox store in the Rise and I hope that the furniture store down there survives. These kind of un-glamorous businesses are the difference between an entertainment district and a viable neighborhood.

The services are coming.

A dentist just opened in Deep Deuce, another at Walker & 13th and still another is going in at Fassler Hall. Midtown Vets opened not that long ago and a dog daycare and boarding place is opening off Auto Alley. There is actually a Walgreens Pharmacy (just prescriptions) and a full-on Starbucks at St. Anthony.

Tons of dry cleaners and hair places. Two great bike shops for related services. All types of gyms and personal trainers.

We're getting there it's just going to take some time given the absolutely nothingness of the previous decades.

I feel you. As a downtown-dweller the lack of services is killing me. We have a well-publicized need for better grocery options. But beyond that have you ever tried to find a dog border/marriage counselor/experienced physical therapist/pediatric dentist/assorted medical specialists/Starbucks (I know, local is better but still)/drug store (closest is on 23rd & Classen)/etc. The majority of these require drives to Nichols Hills/Quail Creek or Edmond.

Yes we have cooler and cooler restaurants and bars, but c'mon. We are maturing down here. We need some services that don't require an epic drive.

This is why I am not at all upset having a Cox store in the Rise and I hope that the furniture store down there survives. These kind of un-glamorous businesses are the difference between an entertainment district and a viable neighborhood.

Not sure of exact needs but there is a physical therapist at 10th and Walker next to Sushi place, and numerous specialist doctors in the buildings next to St Anthonys. Classen View Vet at 22/Classen boards animals. There is a Starbucks with limited hours on 9th street. Definitely need more daily living retail though. We are getting tired of driving to 23 and Penn when we want to make lunch at office. We stopped going to Homeland on Classen because generally we are looking for pre made salads, etc and theirs are always starting to brown.

There's also a physical therapist in the building at 9th/Robinson (SW corner).

Whatever services are not in the area, people would do well to find a way to invest their money into those things. Call a good marriage counselor, waive some money at them, and convince them to move downtown for a percentage of the business.

Get creative, because even if downtown has massive holes in walkability, that doesn't mean that these services will be anything less than successful.

There's also a physical therapist in the building at 9th/Robinson (SW corner).

Yeah, PT Central...I am just going to say that not all Physical Therapists are created equal and leave it at that.

Oic

It's one thing to get white collar, office-based professions into an area. Every development announced seems to include office space. A tire shop needs a very specialized, very large space. I'm sure this could be integrated into multi level developments, I just haven't seen that come into being. I'm worried that it's not hip enough for movers and shakers to get behind, and land will get too pricey to justify building a new one.

To keep things in perspective, not everything has to be within blocks of where you live and work.

Many things are downtown but in the end, what's the worse case? Driving 3-4 miles to get every service and other need met?

That's still well less than the average person drives for these purposes and if in the core you will always have tons of other things at your doorstep.


When I worked in downtown L.A. there were loads of things I couldn't accomplish there. Or, I just preferred to get my services elsewhere rather than rely on the limited offerings.

Can anyone recommend another tire shop/car repair in the vicinity? I'm sad to see a fundamental service leave, and fear its type will never return.

Is the Goodyear at 4th/Walker not an option?

Is the Goodyear at 4th/Walker not an option?

(1) I am very curious about this shop too. Can anyone tell me if they are good?
(2) In all honesty does anyone on this board not see this location finding a "higher and better" use within the next 2-3 years?

Is the Goodyear at 4th/Walker not an option?

We were discussing them yesterday. My one encounter with them was them quoting me $30.00 to fix a flat from my ATV. I had it done elsewhere for $10. The person I was talking to said that they always find a way to "upsell" your repair job but he also said that they are very good at marketing with little things like leaving a doorknob coupon around your stickshift when you pick up car. I work out across street and they don't seem to be hurting for business though. I much prefer Todd's for regular auto repair and oil changes

I have used Goodyear at 4th and Walker a number of times (for tires mostly) and have been really happy with the service and happy enough with the price.

The Goodyear shop has done half a dozen or so sets for me. Fixed flats, etc. they are capable of servicing low profile tires too. $30 sounds about right for a flat that's properly repaired by removing the tire from the wheel, scuffing, and bonding a mushroom plug/patch vs just jamming a cement plug from o'reilly's in there while it's still on the car.

All other service and bodywork, which is excellent, goes to Reudy's on 3rd just west of the tracks across from untitled artspace. But I get the feeling Tom will be retiring pretty soon too, and I doubt anyone who wants to buy that high profile RE will want to continue operating a shop.

A question though as I have a first gen new MINI: is that bmw/mini shop on 10th any good? It's a street project car that I don't have time to work on anymore and I want some aftermarket parts installed.

As for Reudy's of course there are brands they don't work on: German, with the exception of VW. Korean. Or any "eccentric" brands like Volvo or Saab. I can also recommend Beck's but I don't live in that neighborhood anymore.

No one denies that central Okc needs groceries, it's starting to become bizarre that we don't have one. FYI on the salad I sacked groceries in the early 90's for homeland and they made the ready to eat salads from produce that was about to spoil, same for the sandwiches, and deli platters. It was the highest profit yield for food that had to be thrown in the garbage the next day.

Dental 32 on 2nd in deep deuce is fantastic. Dr Steve is young, talented, knows all the new technology. And the office is superb: they even have a sonos system that plays the music you like to relax to.

My shoulder and knee surgeon is on 10th and Harvey. As well as a vast network of SSIM specialists around the st anthony complex.

I board my dogs at 4 paws on 23rd & Robinson. It's not glamorous but they give good care.

Medicine cabinet downtown as well as the st. Anthony Walgreens.

Don't get started on coffee, there's plenty.

We hate the cox store, it's just full of miserable people who either had equipment failures or didn't pay their bill, but anyways.

Interior guilt at the rise is amazing. So much more than a furniture store, it's packed with rad antiques, accessories, fixtures, art, shelving, and it's all for sale. We lamented to the owner that we wanted to buy his display, it had a price tag on it we just didn't know it. Rant is also good if it fits your style, very classy modern casual. High end denim and footwear too.

Pete, maybe we need some kind of directory? I'm always surprised to find out I've been living around the corner from something useful that's been operating under our noses for 10 years. And there's dozens of industrial/commercial gems around main, west of classen. Emsco, Pluge's upholstery, and countertops by Tom are good examples.

A picture from Keith Paul:

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^

Oh, the possibilities!

That courtyard in the middle of the property -- which will be part of the Good Egg Mexican concept -- is going to be pretty special. It's almost fully protected and I know they are hoping it can be used even in the colder months.

Here are the renderings from Gardner Architects.

We should see plans for the Good Egg Mexican concept soon.



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Can't wait to give it a try.

How long does it typically take for a development like this to come together? Is it safe to assume we'll probably see it open sometime next year?

They have already started some cleanup work.

I believe they hope to be open by the end of next year.

Huge, huge improvement. Cannot wait to see it completed.

There will also be lots of landscaping not shown in those renderings.

Is the entire thing going to be dedicated to the restaurant? It seems like a large space for just one restaurant.

Is the entire thing going to be dedicated to the restaurant? It seems like a large space for just one restaurant.

The article at the top of the thread shows the planned layout and says:

Good Egg President Keith Paul told OKCTalk that the newest restaurant will be quite large; 5,000 square feet plus a full 2,500 square foot outdoor patio.

Glad to see the patio and landscaping as I hope they don't put parking in front of the building as it set back quite a ways from the curb.

I drove by this today and it looked like they were already cleaning this out.

Yes, have been for a couple of weeks.

Very excited to see this take place, as it's a location that will help bridge several different areas of Midtown.

Here is their name and logo:

12084

If I were a smart man. And leasing both spaces. I would take an abc-2 approach and marry the patio between both spaces. But barrios? Excellent. We need as many reclaimed wood, rusted metal, "rustic" concepts as possible.

Continuing to clear out the buildings...

The second shot is looking into what will be Barrios, the new Good Egg Group Mexican concept.



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I'm really digging that multi-color cinder block in the back. I don't know if they will keep it or if the public will even see it, but I can imagine it being incorporated into the design.

Yeah, all kinds of potential.

The roof is extremely high and I can't wait to see what they do with the courtyard.

Looking forward to this!.. looking at the space it gives you all kinds of hope for the concept!

I never would have seen the potential here. It really goes to show what a diamond in the rough OKC is, the fact that you really can do this with so much of our existing building stock. I'm excited to see these Wanzer/Sellers/Dodson projects exemplifying how to turn our vernicular mid-century stuff into gems.

When I learned this property was going to be sold, I assumed the buildings would be razed because they are so nondescript.

In fact, when I was interviewing Jeff Johnson, we were well into the discussion before I even realized he was planning to keep and renovate.

Now, when you look inside and see how the courtyard is sheltered on several sides for Barrios, you can imagine the possibilities. And I'm sure the final product will be much more interesting with more character than just about anything you could build new.

When I learned this property was going to be sold, I assumed the buildings would be razed because they are so nondescript.

In fact, when I was interviewing Jeff Johnson, we were well into the discussion before I even realized he was planning to keep and renovate.

Your ability to impartially interview these guys is a huge talent, hence how you get that scoop time after time. I don't mean to shoot the messenger, but my posts are often just reactions to the news that you have to share, not to you.

My mother was so upset when I told her Swanson's was closing. She works at the hospital and they always treated her well when she had service done. Really shows what a local business can do in a community.

I never would have seen the potential here.

Really?

My mother was so upset when I told her Swanson's was closing.

They treated our company vehicles very well. They were very responsible mechanics. They even applied a blanket 10% discount if you had a Keep it Local card. That saved us significant amounts of money over time.

Oh well, we have found new mechanics. It was just nice to be able to walk to the office from there after dropping vehicles off.

Really?

Yes, really. And I'm willing to admit that, regardless of what it says about me. Sometimes developers/designers in OKC have the vision to do something unique and totally unpredictable.

The problem that OKC has is the same problem most communities have. The richest and most powerful people in town usually get special consideration. It just so happens that in OKC, the richest and most powerful people in town are the oil and gas guys, and they're the ones who have been driving the "big" developments. Whatever you might say about them, they are not experts on urban planning.

I bet you any amount of money that Larry Nichols was absolutely dumbfounded that people would criticize his new tower. "But, look... BIG! Big building!" Complaints about its orientation to the street and the presence of a parking garage beside it probably sounded like someone bitching that their unicorn was sick. He's just going to scratch his head and say "Wha?" He's a great oil and gas guy, but he's behind the times as far as urban design goes.

On the smaller scale, I think a lot of OKC developers are really starting to "get it". They're doing a lot of creative re-use and Midtown is really shining right now. What we're probably going to see here is another 10 years or so where the big office towers draw the wrath of Spartan and JTF. But a lot of the smaller developments are really knocking it out of the park. This city is in transition, and a lot of the big money guys here still don't quite grasp what it is we're trying to do. But people are gradually coming around and beginning to understand it.

we have found new mechanics

Who'd you find?